Buenos Aires, November 9 — TEDxRíodelaPlata marked its 15th anniversary with a new edition of its renowned festival of ideas, presented under the central theme “TIME.” The event, held at the Buenos Aires Convention Center (CEC) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., welcomed more than 1,700 attendees and performed a dynamic forum for reflecting on the passage of hours, days, and eras through personal stories, scientific discoveries, and collective works.
As part of the opening segment, “The Science of Time,” architect Margarita Gutman — Director of the Observatory on Latin America OLA at The New School — delivered a thought‑provoking presentation. In her ten‑minute talk, she guided the audience through three of her major projects: Buenos Aires 1910: Memory of the Future, Buenos Aires 2050, and 2084: Imagined Futures from the South.
She began with a striking question: “When did we begin to think about the future as we understand it today?” and explained that the modern concept of the future — as a worldly dimension open to human action — is relatively recent. “It is barely 250 years old,” she emphasized. Prior to the mid‑18th century, the future was envisioned either as an afterlife or as a return to an idealized past. “Today, by contrast, we conceive of a future for ourselves and for those who will follow,” she noted.
Margarita concluded by underscoring that while the future cannot be known or designed, it can indeed be imagined. Each act of imagination, she observed, inevitably carries the imprint of the present in which it is conceived. Thus, envisioning the future becomes not only an exercise in foresight but also a way of shaping the present.
We invite you to watch the video of her presentation here
and to watch the whole event.
